Billie Holiday News

In Touch Entertainment is announcing the spring lineup of its highly successful jazz series produced by New York-based concert promoter, Charles Carlini of In Touch Entertainment.

Birdland will kick-off their great week of programming with Karrin Allyson, Nellie McKay, Victoria Shaw "Under the Covers," and more!

In Her Shoulders is pleased to present a staged reading of Wine In The Wilderness by Alice Childress, directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones on Friday, March 15, 2019. Doors open at 6:45pm for a 7:00pm start with The Play in Context by Arminda Thomas, who situates the script in its historical time and place, followed by the reading and a post-performance Q&A with refreshments. Admission is by Donation ($10 suggested).The performance is at The New School, Starr Foundation Hall, 63 Fifth Avenue, Room UL102. R.S.V.P. to OnHerShouldersReservations@gmail.com.

The Castillo Theatre (Dan Friedman, artistic director; John Rankin, associate managing director) has scheduled two talk backs in-conjunction with its current production of Fred Newman's Billie, Malcolm & Yusuf, directed by award-winning director, Gabrielle Kurlander. The production commemorates the 30th anniversary of Yusuf Hawkins' murder in 1989. The Castillo Theatre is located at 543 West 42nd Street.  Performances Billie, Malcolm & YusufThe Castillo Theatre (Dan Friedman, artistic director; John Rankin, associate managing director) has scheduled two talk backs in-conjunction with its current production of Fred Newman's continues through March 17, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

The intimate, indoor Event Gallery at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts will host 1969 Woodstock festival alumnus (who performed with Paul Butterfield as part of the Butterfield Blues Band) and Grammy-award winner David Sanborn on November 7th at 8:00 p.m. Reserved seating tickets will go on-sale to the general public on Friday, February 22nd at 10:00 a.m. at www.BethelWoodsCenter.org  

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts presents Tony and triple Grammy Award-winning jazz legend Dee Dee Bridgewater in her Wallis debut with a tribute to the rich R&B tradition of Memphis - the city of her birth - on Saturday, March 23, 2019, 7:30 pm, in The Wallis' Bram Goldsmith Theater. The NEA Jazz Master and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, joined by the Memphis Soulphony, returns to her roots to bring the sultry Memphis sound to Los Angeleswith Memphis…Yes I'm Ready, based on her acclaimed album of the same title recorded at Memphis' famed Royal Studios in 2016.

Kansley and Lidert have a special one night only concert as part of HomeGrown's Songbook Series at Chapel Off Chapel on Monday 25th February, with some of Australia's best talent ready to showcase the duo's original work.

Within the tapestry of American Drama there a strong list of Civil Rights plays as well as other plays that tackle social injustices, sexism, and sexuality. Holders play holds true to trying times of the early 1960s but his exquisite storytelling and Yale training shined brightly in this Jireh Breon Holder's playwriting masterclass.

Birdland will kick-off their exciting month of programming with the following acts

The legal drama will have its Long Island premiere this Sunday, February 17 at 7pm at The New Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre, Long Island.

Beck Center for the Arts to produce Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, featuring regional favorite and talent Nicole Sumlin.

Coffeegrinds Records is proud to announce the release of their 4th BLUE LARGO album BEFORE THE DEVIL STEALS YOUR SOUL, which is a 'Best Blues Album' nominee for the 2019 San Diego Music Awards.

Bay Area Cabaret welcomes celebrated vocalist Catherine Russell in her Venetian Room debut on Sunday, March 24 at 5 p.m. Ms. Russell will perform selections from her acclaimed show, Harlem on My Mind for which her recording won a 2016 Grammy Nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. For the first time before a San Francisco audience, Ms. Russell will also perform songs from her highly anticipated March '19 release Alone Together ("Errand Girl for Rhythm", "He May be your Dog, but he's Wearing my Collar", "Is You or is You Ain't my Baby").

The Public Theater announced the sixth season of PUBLIC STUDIO today, which will present two new works this spring. Continuing The Public's commitment to nurturing new playwrights, the two productions will run in succession in The Public's Shiva Theater and be presented as pared-down productions with the low ticket price of $15. This vital program continues The Public's mission of making new work by emerging artists accessible to all audiences.

The Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, will open its 18th edition with the world premiere of the HBO Documentary Film The Apollo. Helmed by Academy and Emmy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams, The Apollo chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York City landmark, the Apollo Theater. The film will debut at the iconic theater itself on Wednesday, April 24, 2019 and later this year on HBO. The feature-length documentary weaves together archival footage, music, comedy and dance performances, and behind-the-scenes verité with the team that makes the theater run. The Apollo features interviews with artists including Patti LaBelle, Pharrell Williams, Smokey Robinson, and Jamie Foxx. The documentary is produced by Lisa Cortés, Nigel Sinclair's White Horse Pictures, and Williams. The 2019 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 24-May 5.

Gabrielle C. Archer has joined the cast of David Heron's Against His Will- The Staged Reading, and readily admits the character she will play is completely unlike anything she has ever done before.

Audelco Award winning actors Maurice Carlton and Fulton C. Hodges have joined the cast of the staged reading of playwright Bless ji Jaja's drama Barberdashers- Haircuts and Male Grooming, an installment in the Frank Silvera Writer's Workshop monthly reading series in partnership with The Billie Holiday Theatre.

In time for Black History Month, BroadwayHD, the premiere streaming service for live theater in the US and countries across the globe, has pulled together a special playlist that honors African Americans on the stage. From Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, to Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, and the galvanizing drama Pipeline, by award-winning playwright Dominique Morriseau, BroadwayHD presents this month hours of exciting theater celebrating the writing, performances, and music of some of the most talented individuals to ever appear on the stage.

The Broadway at Birdland concert series was proud to present 2019 GRAMMY nominee Jazz Vocalist Nicole Zuraitis and the MusicTalks Jazz Quartet, who were in concert celebrating the world of the Blues on January 28.

Throughout February, Queens Library will celebrate Black History Month with more than 100 free events and programs at all 62 of its branches. Inspired by Maya Angelou's works, this year's theme, "Black Migrations: Traveling Shoes," seeks to pay homage to the African-American diaspora, highlighting the movement and cultural contributions of people of African descent around the world.